# University Internships & AI Talent for Dealer Groups | Zero to Sixty Lab

Source: https://zerotosixtylab.com/automotive-talent/

UNIVERSITY & TALENT / PROPOSED PATHWAY
Could your next builder
come from a local university?

I’m exploring a way for dealer groups and local universities to bring students into supervised AI projects. Students would learn the method while working alongside your team.

Get to know people through their work.

A dealer group gets to see how a student asks questions, handles feedback and solves a problem. The student gets an automotive project, supervision and work they can explain to a future employer.

That could give both sides a better basis for discussing future roles. The project still needs to be worthwhile learning in its own right.

This pathway is being developed. No university partners or placements are confirmed. Participation, credit, compensation and any future employment must be agreed with the institution and employer.

Who would do what?

Your dealer group

An operations sponsor brings the problem and reviews the work. A qualified technical owner supervises access, engineering decisions and anything that could affect a live system.

The university or college

The institution helps agree the placement format, learning objectives, student readiness and academic supervision. Its term dates matter, too.

The student or intern

The student investigates the job, builds and tests small versions, and records what they learn. Responsibility grows with their experience and the support available.

My role

I teach Intent-to-System Engineering and mentor the project, helping the team choose experiments, review results and work through technical questions.

Start with one project.

We’d begin with a dealer group, a local institution and a problem small enough for a supervised project. Before starting, everyone would agree the time commitment, supervision, compensation or funding, confidentiality and ownership. Student placement costs and the programme fee are separate.

The 90-day programme could provide the structure, adapted to the institution’s approved term. We’d start with approved sample data and review progress together.

At the end, the student could show the workflow they studied, the prototype, the tests and what still needs work. The host retains responsibility for live systems and maintenance.

START WITH A CONVERSATION
Let’s explore a local pilot.

Tell me your location, the dealership problem you have in mind and whether you already work with a university or college.
Talk to Stephen

Contact: steve.southin@zerotosixtylab.com